Stalking, or Public Service?

Last year, there were several instances where it became clear that big-city council members were not living in the districts (or even cities) that they ...

Last year, there were several instances where it became clear that big-city council members were not living in the districts (or even cities) that they represented. In Indianapolis, Councilman Patrice Abduallah resigned after it became clear that he lived outside his own district.

Now residency has become an issue in an Indiana Senate race, the Indianapolis Star reports. Mike Beeles, who is running against state Sen. Brent Waltz in the May 6 GOP primary, claims that Waltz lives with his parents, not at the condo Waltz lists as his official residence.

Beeles, an IndyGo supervisor who lives about half a block from the condo, said rumors about where Waltz lived spurred him to begin investigating about five weeks ago. He said he stood atop a stepladder to peer into the second-floor unit and take photos.
"You can see in there very clearly," Beeles said, adding that the only furnishings in the condo were two office chairs. "You can see very clearly that the place was vacant." Waltz plans today to seek an injunction blocking Beeles from future peeping-tomism, saying that Beeles is stalking him. He told the Star that the condo is indeed his residence. Even if he doesn't spend much time there, the senator says, that doesn't mean it's not his official residence: "The threshold for the law is very, very low. It's not where you spend most of your time, because if it was, I'd probably be living in my car."

Later update: Tennessee state Rep. Tommie Brown has filed a bill to block politicians forced from office due to residency issues from seeking their old jobs for a decade. The bill targets a Chattanooga councilwoman forced to quit last year.